Sanitary chair armrest



July 27, 1948. c. G. MAXSON 2,445,870

SANITARY CHAIR ARM REST Filed Oct. 7, 1944 in section.

Patented July 27, 1948 SANITARY CHAIR ARMREST Clarence G. Maxson, Rochester, N. Y., assignor to Ritter Company, 1110., Rochester, N.Y., a corporation of Delaware Application October 7, 1944, Serial No. 557,569

This invention relates to arm rests for dental and medical operating'chairs, one object being to provide an improved arm rest having more .efiicient and sanitary construction.

Another object is to provide an arm rest of the character indicated having combined therewith a sterilizing means, such as a source of germicidal rays and constructed in such a way as to be capable of being continuously sterilized while in position on the chair. 7

A further object is to provide such an arm rest arranged for'progressively sterilizing the portion supporting the arm after each use thereof and without removal from the chair.

To these and other ends the invention resides in certain improvements and combinations of parts, all as will be hereinafter more fully described, the novel features being pointed out in the claims at the end of the specification.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation ofa portion of an operating chair having the present invention applied thereto;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged elevation, partiallyin section, on the line 2a 2a. in Fig. 3;

Fig. 3 isan enlarged section on the line 3a-3a in Fig. 2, partly broken away; and Fig. 4 is an enlarged elevation corresponding to a portion of Fig. 2 but with additional parts The embodiment of the invention herein described, by way of illustration, is shown as adapted for application to a chair of known construction for dental and medical operating use, comprising a seat ill on a frame ll mounted on a pedestal l2. Pivotally connected to the seat frame as at l3 and I4, is an adjustable back portion [5 of any known and suitable construction which forms no part of the present invention and so requires no description in detail.

The present invention preferably comprises an arm rest support in the form of a standard I6 adjustably fixed at its lower end on the seat frame II as bymeans of a clamping bail l'l. Standard l6 is preferably bifurcated at its upper end to provide branching arms 3 and I9 on the spaced ends of which the arm rest 20 is mounted. As the arm rest is the same for each side of the chair, of course, a description of one will sufiice for both.

The arm rest comprises, preferably, a metal casing 2| of elongated channel shape with its open side disposed upwardly, as shown. The casingis conveniently made, in the present instance, of a one-piece, channel shaped body portion 22,

4 Claims. (01. 155-198) the upper side edges of which are preferably rolled and stiffened as at 23. The ends of portion 22 are preferably seated Within flanges 24 formed on end plates 25 and 26 which form the ends of the casing.

The arm supporting member proper is preferably an elongated solid member, or bar, 21, having opposite, lateral, arm receiving portions or surfaces, 28 and 29, suitably curved to comfortably engage and support the arm of the occupant of the chair. The other opposite sides of member 21 are preferably fluted as shown at 30, although it will be appreciated that the particular cross sectional shape may be varied as desired.

Arm rest member 2'! is located and movably mounted in the described opening at the top of casing 2|, so as toclosely engagethe side and end walls and close the opening, as shown. To this end, member 21 preferably has each end thereof formed with :a concentric bore 3I- in which a stud 32 is secured by a driving fit, the stud being formed with knurled portions 33, if desired, to more securely fix it in the member 21. Each of these studs 32 has a cylindrical section 34 immediately beyond the end of member 21 and this section is rotatably mounted in a bearing opening 35 in the adjacent end Wall of the casing, thus supporting the arm rest member 21 for rotation in the casing opening.

Housed within each casing 2| is a sterilizing means, preferably in the form of an elongated source of germicidal rays, such as one of the known mercury vapor, gaseous conduction tubular lamps 36, although any other suitable source of ultra violet rays may be employed in the casing for germicidal treatment of the arm rest surfaces. In the present instance, casing 2| contains at each end thereof a supporting socket means 31, of any known and suitable construe.- tion, in Which the usual contact pins at the ends of the lamp tube 36 are received and engaged by contacts, for closing and energizing the circuit through the tube, as well understood in the art. This circuit includes any, known and suitable controlling means which may be located on the chair or at some distant point. It will be seen from Figs. 3 and 4 that the several parts are so associated and arranged that the arm supporting surface 29 is subjected to direct tr'eatment by sterilizing rays from the lamp while the opposite surface 28 is disposed in arm supporting position. Member 2'! may be constructed of plastic, glass, or other known material adapted for the purposes indicated, including the obstruction of the 3 ultra violet rays so as to prevent them from escaping from casing 2|.

Means are preferably provided for retaining arm rest member 21 in each of its adjusted positions, comprising, in the present instance, a circular disk 38 fixed on one of the trunnions 3d of the arm rest member :21. For this purpose, the trunnion projecting outwardly through the end 25 of casing 2| is formed with an angular or square section 39 which is received in a correspondingly angular opening in disk 38, the latter being held on the stud as by means of a cap screw it. Disk 38 is equipped at oppositely spaced points with openings ll in which a. pair of spools 42 are slidably retained. The outer head of each,

spool is large enough to be conveniently grasped in the fingers, while its reduced inner head slides cupants arm and to position for exposure to said in the enlarged inner end 43 of the spool receiving opening 4!. socket tube M in which a cylindrical plunger 45 is 'slidably housed and pressed outwardly by a coiled compression spring 46 within the tube, as shown. As disk 38 is rotated to bring one of the spools 52 opposite the plunger 55, the latter is projected into the enlarged end 43 of the spool receiving opening t I, thus retaining the disk and arm rest member 21 in adjusted position. To release the disk for adjustment, the lower spool is pushed in to push backthe plunger 45 and thus release the disk for turning by means of the spool as a handle.

The operation of the device will be apparent from the above description of its construction. After use of one of the arm receiving surfaces, as 28, the lower spool 42 of disk 38 is pressed inwardly to eject detent plunger 45 from the spool receiving opening, thereby freeing disk 38 for rotation through 180 degrees, whereby the opposite spool of the disk is brought opposite the detent plunger which thereupon springs into its opening in the disk and yieldably locks the disk in a po'sition tolccate the used surface 28in the casing and replace it by the surface 25 previously sterilized by subjection to the germicidal rays from the lamp source 36. The used surface 28 is thus brought to position for sterilization in the casing in preparation fora repetition. of the cycle;

In this convenient and effective way, the invention provides for .progressive sterilization of the arm rest surfaces as they are successively subjected to use, without removal from the chair which is at all times maintained, therefore, with sterilized and sanitary surfaces for the arms and hands of the patient. The invention is embodied, furthermore, in a simple and practical type of construction capable of being readily and economically manufactured and assembled on the chair.

It will thus be seen that the invention accomplishes its objects and while it has been herein described by reference to the details of a preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that such disclosure is intended as illustrative, rather than in a limiting sense, as it is contemplated that various changes in the construction and arrangement of the parts will readily occur to those skilled in the art, within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.

Iclaim:

1. A sanitary arm rest for dental and medical operating chairs comprising a casing having an opening therein, means for supporting said casing at one side of said chair in position for supporting an arm of an occupant thereof. a source of germicidal rays in said casing, and an elongated Fixed in the casing head 25 is a rays, respectively.

'2. A sanitary arm rest for dental and medical operating chairs comprising a casing having an openin in a wall thereof, means for supporting said casing at one side of said chair in position for supporting an arm of an occupant thereof,

a source of germicidal rays in said casing and a unitary-elongated arm supporting member movably mounted on said casing in said opening thereof with one portion thereof normally disposed outside said opening in position for engagement with the arm of an occupant of said chair and also with another portion thereof inside said casing and exposed to germicidal treatment by said rays, said member being movable in said opening to alternately move said portions thereof directly to position for supporting engagement with an occupants arm and to position for exposure to said rays, respectively.

3. A sanitary arm rest for dental and medical operating chairs comprising a casing having an opening in a wall thereof, a support provided with means for attachment to the seat of a chair for supporting said casing at one side of said chair in position for supporting an arm of an occupant thereof, a source of germicidal rays in said casing, and a unitary elongated arm supporting member rotatably mounted in and closing said casing opening with one integral portionthereof normally disposed outside said casing in. position for engagement with the arm of an occupant of the chair and also with another integral portion thereof inside said casing and exposed to germicidal treatment by said rays, said member being rotatable in said opening to alternately rotate said portions thereof directly to position for supporting engagement with an occupants arm and to position for exposure to said rays, respectively.

4. A sanitary arm rest for dental and medical operating chairs comprising a casing having an opening therein, a support provided with means for attachment to the seat of a chair for supporting said casing at one side of. said chairin position for supporting an arm of an occupant thereof,.a. source of germicidal rays in said casing, a unitary elongated arm supporting member located in and closing said casing opening, said member having its ends rotatably mounted on saidcasing with one integral portion of said member normally disposed outside said casing opening in position for engagement with th arm of an occupant of the chair and also with another integral portion thereof .inside said casing and exposed to germicidal treatment by said rays, said member being rotatable in said opening to alternately rotate'said portions thereof directly to position for supporting engagement with an occupants arm and'to position for exposureto said rays, respectively, to maintain said member in sterile condition, and means for retaining said member in adjusted position.

CLARENCE G. MAXSON.

(References on following page) 5 6 RE Number Name Date FERENCES CITED 1,800,261 Monaghan Apr, 14, 1931 The following references are of record in the 1,961,700 Moehler June 5, 1934 file of this patent: 2,310,768 Eckhardt Feb. 9, 1943 2316 540 Danle A r 13 1943 I TAT E Y P UN TED S ES PAT NTS 5 2,323,290 Bagley July 6, 1943 Number Name Date1 2,332,111 Porter et a1. Oct. 19, 1943 910,357 Case Jan. 19, 909 1,014,702 Grant Jan. 16, 1912 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,326,165 Berninghaus Dec. 30, 1919 m Number Country Date 1,628,030 Catlett May 10, 1927 1,945 Great Britain Jan. 27, 1899 

